Morne Steyn has now made the transition from darling of Loftus to sweetheart of every place else. Thirty-one points in one Test match against the All Blacks has seen to that.
It was a performance that played to the adoring crowd, this time in Durban, and he disguises it exceedingly well if he is indeed playing consciously to the gallery.
Perhaps he is in the mould of a Tiger Woods or a Freddie Flintoff in nonchalantly sending the fans into a frenzy with his ability to strike a ball.
I watched the latter two yesterday, in pulsating arenas in different parts of the world, and it was obvious how they are able to lift their games when they are attuned to the buzz from the bleachers.
Peter de Villiers, in his own peculiar way of drawing surprising comparisons, once placed Ruan Pienaar, then his first-choice flyhalf, in the same bracket as Tiger Woods.
Perhaps the Springbok coach got the wrong man because it is Steyn who has emerged in that focused vein in the manner he stares over a goalkick like Woods stands over a putt.
There may well be the flash of Tiger's genius in the way that Pienaar is able to play his attacking rugby but, like putting in golf, it is goal-kicking in rugby that elevates a man up the leaderboard.
By the end of the third round of the Buick Open, Woods had made 36 from 36 in putts from five feet. By the time he had nailed nine goalkicks at Durban, Steyn had missed only two shots since be became a Springbok a couple of months ago.
Flintoff at Edgbaston scored 74 runs in 79 balls. This was not one of those bludgeoning innings of which he is famous - instead he picked his shots with a keen eye to constantly dissect the field. Like Woods and Steyn, he systematically made the right scoring moves, which is what really turns the fans on.
To play games like these men do requires much more than mere skill. It calls for absolute confidence to bring off the big shot while hearing the expectations of the crowd yet still being able to block out the interference.
This was no better illustrated than when Woods stood on the 17th tee in the third round at the Buick. He had made birdie at the 16th after hitting a wayward drive and was now one shot back of the lead.
The 17th is a short hole that offers a luxury motorcar for a hole-in-one. The gallery stood tee to green yelling encouragement.
Woods left his tee shot 11 metres from the pin. Still, a birdie would tie the lead and he duly drained the monster putt en route to a seven-under 65 for the outright lead going into the final round.
It was a wonderful exposition of playing to the gallery, just like Flintoff in Birmingham and, yes, Steyn in Durban.